2012 Escape from Alcatraz

June 8, 2012 - June 10, 2012

Event Results:

Winner of the CEO Challenge at Alcatraz almost misses the start of the race

It's a triathlete's worst nightmare, and one that often repeats all night before the race - sleeping in for the start. Well, for Matt Wayne, CEO of Audience Generation of Austin, TX, it was a nightmare that almost came true!

"We were all gathered in the transition area and the CEOs were organizing their things before boarding the last bus to the get on the Princess Belle ship for the start of the race," said Ted Kennedy, President of CEO Challenges. "We obviously noticed that Matt was missing, so I called him to see where he was. He frantically answered, saying 'I'm riding my bike 20 miles an hour to try and get there on time - tell them to hold the bus!' So we stalled as much as we could and arranged for a car to bring him to the Pier if he did miss the last bus."

"And finally, here he comes, hootering and hollering while riding into the transition zone. Our staff met him there, he ripped his wetsuit and goggles out of his bag, racked his bike, and ran for the bus," continued Kennedy. "It was clearly not his most relaxing morning, and the whole time on the bus he was trying to remember what he packed and where it might be in his transition bag."

In the end it all worked out OK for Matt as he ended up as Champion of the CEO Challenge division at the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco on June 10, 2012. He ended up having one of the greatest triathlon experiences of his life and said, "You aimed and hit the mark with the CEO Challenge! All of us were so incredibly impressed! Every CEO couldn't stop gushing with praise. I will be back to race again with your organization."

CEO Challenge competitors joined 2,000 other brave souls in a 1.5-mile swim through the dangerous waters of San Francisco Bay from Alcatraz to the mainland, rode 18 very hilly miles to Golden Gate Park and back, and then ran 8-miles on trails that included a tunnel under the Golden Gate Bridge and the infamous Sand Ladder up from Baker Beach.